Mediterranean Garden Grill ~ 335 W. Foothill Blvd. Monrovia, CA 91016 ~ (626) 301-0555

Generally, when I write about a restaurant, it’s based on a one-time experience. Even if I like it or love it, I may not go back for a variety of reasons. It may be too far or my pocketbook can only handle a yearly visit. Usually, it’s because I love eating out and checking out other eateries so much that I’d rather concentrate on new finds as opposed to re-visiting old haunts. However, if a restaurant scores the double whammy of serving delicious food and being close to where I live, than I will take the opportunity to return. Such is the case with the Mediterranean Garden Grill in Monrovia.

Before I go any further, I want to mention that it’s an interesting restaurant space. My first visit there was during lunch time and the dining room had an enclosed patio kind of feel with the windows open to let the air in, but at a later dinner visit, they closed up all the windows and it felt like a regular indoor restaurant.

As mentioned, my first meal there was for lunch. Wanting something a little tart, I started with the beautifully pink pickle plate. Silly question, but why are those pickles pink and are they actually cucumbers or a different pickled vegetable altogether? I’ve always wanted to know.

While I was perusing the menu, an appetizer caught my eye, so I decided to order the Mouhamana, which is chopped walnuts with spicy red peppers and pomegranate juice. I loved the mixture of flavors that included nutty, sweet, tangy and with a little kick. I could have easily just eaten that with the pita bread or even just crackers and I would have been happy, but soon enough, my lule kebab arrived.

Lule Kebab is lean ground beef mixed with onions and spices, seasoned, skewered and grilled, served with rice, grilled vegetables and a pita bread. Taking my first look at it, I really could see all the seasonings embedded in the meat and with just my first bite, I could taste all the great flavors the seasonings imparted. Surprisingly, even though the ground beef was lean, meaning less fat, the lule kebab still had a little juiciness to it and of course, I loved the texture of its charred surface.
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Gridskipper, a helpful map-based travel site, has a list of the best Middle Eastern Restaurants in Los Angeles. Their list is OK but they’ve forgotten a couple of spots that really should be on there:

1. Sunnin Cafe. This Westwood hole-in-the-wall can be inconsistent but it’s generally got the best Middle Eastern fast food in the city limits. The hummos is great, the spinach pies are excellent, and the kebab and shish tawaouk sandwiches are tops.

2. Carnival. A Valley restaurant that gets crowded with Israelis and Palestinians alike for a reason– the food is good, the price is right, and everything is fresh and authentic.

3. Alcazar. I haven’t actually been here but J. Gold loves it and it sounds amazing. Plus, they serve Arak.

4. Anaheim. There are more good middle eastern restaurants in Anaheim then all of Los Angeles combined.

Falafel Express ~ 5577 Reseda Blvd. Tarzana , CA 91356 ~ 818-345-5660 (TACO Guide)

I used to survive off of falafel when I lived in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. First Mamoun’s and later dabbling at Sam’s, then back to Mamoun’s, especially when makdous was in season. These falafel balls of mashed, fried chickpea batter with tahini sauce and crisp salad in pita pockets are cheap, delicious, and go off into the late night where first-gen Middle Eastern descended Americans bump bass on Arabic-skewed techno, a scene that is definitely taco material despite its Atlantic origins.

I hadn’t fucked with falafel on my beloved west coast homeland since coming back a few years ago. Maybe I’ve been to Pita Hut or whatever it’s called on LaBrea, but I like, totally forget dudes. So I was pretty stoked on what these stone-cold characters were serving here in Tarzana, a short roll off the 101. Its small diner space resembled a religious experience, packed with observers of the Jewish faith. In fact, the food at the creatively named Falafel Express is Glatt Kosher, which means its taken a trip to the Exorcist (In this case Rabbi Bukspan) for a good purging of its sinful nature.

You know this here poster that sort of looks like the severed head of that Gogol Bordello singer, if he was a little more aggro and fatter and deader? I was sitting next to that guy, the same exact head sitting on a average-built, though slightly physically challenged body. The kid was really smart, he was talking all about Ford-era economics or something, and his sister was a totally bangin’ blonde with big breasts who could not have cared less, I think she was missing Sweet Sixteen on MTV and was bummed. It might have been my imagination, but we kind of exchanged looks and the whole entire time I was eating my falafel, I saw this severed head dude in my periphery kind of looking at me like he could read my evil intentions in his girl or sister or whoever she was.

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Shafaa Halal Foods ~ 12211 Hawthorne Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250 ~ (310) 675-3400 (TACO Guide)

Some of the tastiest food comes from some of the most unkempt places. Shafaa Turkish restaurant bucks this trend. They invested some time and care in their recipes, just as they have invested some serious bucks in the decor and the building itself. The outside presents the streetside viewer with intricate arabesque design on the columns, arches, and other surfaces of the facade.

Inside, the one encounters walls draped in fabric, censers and tassels hanging from the ceilings and walls, small cut-glass (or is it Lucite?) chandeliers, fringed bolsters and pillows in some of the booths. You know how much it probably cost to flameproof all of that fabric hanging on the walls? I assume it is flameproofed, per municipal codes. To make a long story short, this place is nicer that most places with comparable menu prices.

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